The Orb - The Astoria
Around about 10.20, the BBC sports jingle starts up, soon followed by the theme to Sportsnight. I could have stayed home for that, but then I would have missed the Orb. When it comes to playing cheeky samples, the Orb have the art-form down to a T. When it comes to putting on a live spectacle, even in a venue better known for hosting rock bands, the Orb have a pedigree which means that the punter is not going to be disappointed, and they certainly weren’t tonight. More about that later.
Firstly, a little explanation. This is the dance night of this year’s NME Brat Shows week long residency at the Astoria. I recall when the Brats started a couple of years ago, when the idea was to showcase new, up and coming talent, giving the adoring masses their first chance to see the next big things in the flesh. I saw Supergrass and Gene before either had ventured near the charts and came away tonight knowing that I had seen established acts, which means that the crowds are less likely to be introduced to anything new. Anyway, the point is, Spooky, Lionrock and The Orb are all fairly well established, and familiar faces on the festival circuits of the last few years, so, where is the new talent?
Spooky opened the proceedings and immediately kicked arse. A minimal stage show, with the duo twiddling the knobs on their mixing desk on stage whilst an array of images of buildings collapsing and twirling geometric figures were projected on to the screens behind them. Techno was the flavour, and the people boogied. Lionrock next. A five piece featuring, shock horror, a guitarist and bassist. A more organic, less frantic sound, but still fine for dancing. A simpler light show and a subtler attack. More people came, more danced.
So, about three hours after the evening began, The Orb take the stage, and appear to have plugged their sound system into BBC 1. We expect nothing less. From the start of the evening I had been wondering why there were two large white triangles suspended above the stage. Then before The Orb come on, a team of roadies erect a large pyramid structure centre stage. "Are they trying to create a Glasto style Pyramid stage?" I thought. No, just making a screen for their projections as it turns out. A live Orb is very different to a recorded Orb, much more upbeat, much more energetic. Dub fuses with ambient and techno to create the perfect excuse for dancing. Their sound has become a little more urgent, taking on board some jungle breakbeats, but never losing its original character and wit.
The only problem with the set was that it was only an hour long, not leaving enough time to build up to the fever pitch of a full Orb show.
Sid
